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Paints win playoff opener at Butler

BUTLER, Pa. – Before Wednesday’s opener to the Prospect League best-of-3 semifinal playoff series against the Butler BlueSox, Chillicothe Paints manager Greg Cpret said he was confident his team would get hits as they led the league in the regular season in that category. However, he was concerned the hits wouldn’t amount to runs.

The Paints made those worries disappear for Cypret as they scored two runs on two hits in the third and three runs on four hits in the sixth in a 5-0 road win against the BlueSox.

Joe Hoscheit came through in the third inning with a big two-out double to score Deion Tansel and Zach Jacobs. Tansel led off the inning with a single and Jacobs walked.

Already with a hit and a double, Hoscheit added another dobule to lead off the sixth. After a single by T.J. Diffenderfer, Matt Hopfner scored Hoscheit with a sacrifice fly to center field. Drew Erie struck out for the second out of the inning, but Chillicothe wasn’t done. Gregory Rhude singled to score Diffenderfer, then Tansel doubled to score Rhude to make it 5-0.

Butler’s offensecould do little against Jason Byres, who allowed just three hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out four. Jason Johnson pitched the next two innings and allowed two hits in the seventh, but escaped danger with a ground out to the shortstop.

That was as close as the BlueSox would get to scoring as Shea Murray struck out the side in the ninth to secure the win.

Hoscheit led the team offensively, finishing 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run and an RBI. Tansel went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Diffenderfer also had a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Chillicothe will host Butler at 7:05 p.m. today at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Game 2. The Paints also will have home field advantage for a Game 3 if necessary at 7:05 p.m. Friday.